Student Engagement in Social Justice at the Universidad Centroamericana - Gianna Maita

Oct 15, 2026

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Student engagement in social justice is examined in Nicaragua through evolving political conditions and shifting civic participation among youth. The study uses interviews conducted at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) with students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore service-learning, community-based research, and related programs. The analysis highlights how the university’s Jesuit social responsibility model encourages students to connect with marginalized communities and learn equality and justice in solidarity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Partner Institutions

Universidad Centroamericana (UCA)

Social Justice Engagement Dynamics in Nicaragua

Youth Civic Involvement Then and Now

Student Engagement in Social Justice at the Universidad Centroamericana Gianna Maita Georgetown University Civic engagement of young people has evolved in Nicaragua as its political environment has changed. There is a marked difference between youth involvement in Nicaragua during the Sandinista Revolution from 1979 through the early 1980s, when it was a cultural norm for young people to serve in solidarity with the poor, and today, when universities must push students to connect and learn with disadvantaged communities. Interviews about servicelearning, community-based research and other programs in marginalized, local communities and the broader Nicaraguan society were conducted at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) with students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore what this evolving dynamic of social justice engagement looks like at a Jesuit University. On the campus of the UCA, the change in youth interest in civic involvement is clear, though the possible reasons for this change vary. In the summer of 2014, the researcher partnered with the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), a Jesuit institution of higher education in Managua, Nicaragua. The researcher conducted interviews with students, faculty, staff, and community members about service-learning, community-based research, and other programs that engage UCA students in marginalized, local communities and the broader Nicaraguan society. Her research focuses on student involvement in social justice issues within the context of Nicaraguan history and the current political atmosphere of the country. Partner Institutions: Universidad Centroamericana – Nicaragua The Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), or Central American University, in Managua is the first private university in Central America and a member of the Association of Universities Entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America (AUSJAL). As a part of the AUSJAL, the UCAis committed to a policy of social responsibility that requires it to respond to social needs in its communities through the curriculum and through research. AUSJAL universities have a responsibility to develop responses to social challenges that successfully promote sustainable human development and are motivated by the promotion of justice, solidarity, and social equality (Pérez Díaz, Idíaquez, Rodrigues, Uriarte, & Solis, 2013, p. 95) . The UCA“wants to be a university interested in forming citizens who care about their country” said Gaston Ortega, the coordinator of UCA’s Social Service Program. It does this through its curriculum, academic research institutions, and extra-curricular programs that facilitate student engagement in the transformation of Nicaraguan society and learn about equality and justice in solidarity with the communities they serve. Introduction Through the late 1920s and early 1930s, Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan nationalist, led a guerrilla movement against the United States’occupation of Nicaragua (Belli, 2003) . After 1933, one family, the Somoza Garcías, controlled Nicaragua under a repressive military dictatorship for four decades. Although this dictatorship was supported by the United States government, it failed to improve the lives of poor Nicaraguans (Merrill, 1993) . In the 1970s, a socialist © 2015, Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Current Issues in Comparative Education 17(1), 59–71. Maita movement called the Sandinista National Liberation Front gained considerable support among Nicaragua’s poorest people. Violence between the Sandinistas, many of them teenaged fighters, and the National Guard killed many young Nicaraguans from 1974 to 1979, when the hard-line Sandinista faction took control of Nicaragua with other members of a junta (Barrios de Chamorro, 1996) . The junta government, controlled by the Sandinistas made a pledge to work for political pluralism, a mixed economic system, and a nonalign

FAQs

What does the study investigate about social justice engagement at UCA?

It examines how student involvement in social justice issues has changed in Nicaragua and how UCA programs such as service-learning and community-based research shape engagement with disadvantaged communities.

How did youth civic involvement in Nicaragua differ across time periods?

The text contrasts youth participation during the Sandinista Revolution era, when serving solidarity with the poor was a cultural norm, with today’s context in which universities must push students to connect with disadvantaged communities.

Which UCA characteristics support student engagement in social responsibility?

The Universidad Centroamericana is described as committed to social responsibility through curriculum, academic research institutions, and extra-curricular programs aligned with justice, solidarity, and social equality.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni